OSU Hoops: Cowboys Battle to Finish, Fall 72-63 to No. 5 Houston

BOX SCORE

The Cowboys were in H-Town on Tuesday night, and they gave the No. 5 Cougars a solid fight.

Oklahoma State lost to Houston 72-63 in the Fertitta Center. After some blowout road losses in Big 12 play, the Cowboys stuck with the Cougars all night, trimming Houston’s lead to six with a minute to play and five with 29 seconds left. But in the end, the Cougars commitment to dominating the glass proved too much.

“You don’t rebound the ball against Houston, you’re gonna get sent home in a body bag.”

That’s what Steve Lutz said after OSU’s 81-72 win against Utah on Saturday. Houston came into the night averaging 13.3 offensive rebounds a game and ranked 10th nationally in offensive rebound percentage. The Cougars pulled 18 offensive boards off the glass against the Cowboys and turned those boards into 16 second-chance points. The Cowboys had four offensive boards and no second-chance points. In terms of total rebounds, the Cougars won that battle 40-24.

In spite of those numbers, the Cowboys were tough to put away.

OSU led by as many as nine in the first half. Chi Chi Avery hit a 3-pointer and had a smooth drive for a layup midway through the first half that gave the Pokes an 18-9 lead with 11:55 to play until halftime.

Chi Chi from downtown! @Ballout_chii pic.twitter.com/BLo4lX7Y6T

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 5, 2025

That woke the Cougars up, as Houston outscored OSU 27-13 in the final 10 minutes to take a 39-33 lead into the locker room. Then Houston started the second half on a 12-2 run, ballooning that lead to 17. It sort of had that feeling of some of the Cowboys’ earlier road games, but then OSU responded, answering that run with a 10-2 run to cut Houston’s lead down to nine.

That’s where it hovered for much of the remainder of the game, but the Cowboys gave it a good push late. OSU trailed 64-53 with three minutes to play when Bryce Thompson got to the paint and made a layup. Arturo Dean then knocked down a jumper before Houston’s J’Wan Roberts matched. Then Thompson battled past a pair of defenders and banked home another shot at the rim. A foul was called, Thompson made the free throw, and Houston’s lead was down to 66-60.

AND 1 TO CUT THE LEAD TO SIX!

Cowboys fighting 😤 pic.twitter.com/u6dl8fI0Uz

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 5, 2025

Houston struggled to get the ball up the floor against OSU’s press after Thompson hit the free throw. The Cougars had to use two timeouts before they were able to get past halfcourt. From there, the Cowboys elected to let it play out, and Houston’s top 10 offensive efficiency rating proved true when LJ Cryer hit a leaning jumper.

Back on the other end of the floor, Thompson ripped a crosscourt pass to Dean, who hit his second 3 of the night to pull OSU within five with 29 second to play, but the Cougars were able to hit their free throws and escape with a W. The Cowboys made seven shots in a row before missing their final three to end the game.

Four Cowboys finished in double figures.

Abou Ousmane led the way with 16 on 10 shots. He scored 12 of those points in the first half after being held to five points in OSU’s first game with Houston. Ousmane also hit another trailing 3. He is 9-for-16 (56%) from long range this season.

Dean had 13 on eight shots to go with four assists and five steals. That ties a season-high in points for Dean, and it’s the most steals he has had in a game as a Cowboy. It was also the first time he hit multiple 3s in a game as a Poke.

Thompson had 11, continuing his career-long streak of games in double figures, which is at nine now. He scored seven of his points in the second half and finished with four assists to only one turnover.

Avery had his takeover stretch in the first, and he finished with 10 points. He also tallied three rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal and was a team-best +8.

The Cowboys shot better from the field than they did from the foul line, hitting 51% of their 49 field-goal attempts (really good) and 50% of their 12 free-throw attempts (not good).

OSU drops to 11-11 on the year and 3-8 in Big 12 play. The Pokes return home this weekend and will play Arizona State at 1 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday.